Brown's return may lead Cavs to playoffs

Now, after a short, tumultuous stay in Los Angeles, the bald, bespectacled, defensive-minded coach often criticized for his stagnant offense has returned to lead Cleveland out of the NBA's darkness. Mike Brown is back.

He was fired in the early days of that infamous summer three years ago when a "Decision" changed everything for the Cavaliers.

Now, after a short, tumultuous stay in Los Angeles, the bald, bespectacled, defensive-minded coach often criticized for his stagnant offense has returned to lead Cleveland out of the NBA's darkness.

Mike Brown is back.

Is LeBron James next?

Dismissed in 2010 by owner Dan Gilbert after the Cavs were eliminated in the playoffs, Brown inherits a team similar to the one he had in 2005, when James blossomed into a superstar and Cleveland won 50 games to get back into the postseason for the first time since 1998.

Since Brown left, the Cavs have lost 166 games, a downward spiral that began when James packed up his MVP trophies and talents for Miami. But with All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, a

revamped roster and playing in the top-heavy Eastern Conference, Cleveland should return to contention and may be one of the league's surprises.

"I feel we definitely have the pieces this year," said Irving, who averaged 22.4 points and 5.9 assists last season. "We have the chance to be something special."

Irving's health holds the key.

He has missed 38 games in his first two pro seasons with a variety of injuries, raising concerns about his durability. But the 21-year-old reported to training camp looking stronger physically and he seems to have done some mental maturing.

Irving wants to be the game's best player, and after coaching James and Kobe Bryant, Brown sees many similarities between his young star and those two icons.

"They want to be coached hard. They want to not only be better, they want to be great," Brown said. "Just being around Kyrie this short amount of time, I'm starting to feel that. He's young and has a ways to grow, but he's hungry to not only be better, but to be the greatest. When you have a guy that has that type of talent, skill level, but has an individual drive on his own to be the greatest, to me that results in a superstar in the making just waiting to blossom."

The Cavs, too, have a chance to bloom into something this season as well. With Irving, guard Dion Waiters, top overall draft pick Anthony Bennett, third-year forward Tristan Thompson and scrappy forward/center Anderson Varejao, Cleveland has a solid core to build around before next summer, when James may again test free agency.